With the clocks going back, and the days getting shorter, we have entered the month of crazy discounts, and Black Friday is just around the corner. This year’s event is not supposed to kick off till Sunday the 26th, but retailers have once again begun dropping their prices way ahead of the big day.
This year shoppers will be able to grab those bargains in store after the pandemic kept last year’s sale online.
Black Friday offers deals on pretty much everything, from clothing and accessories to electronics and furniture. Discounts vary and last year fast fashion retailer Pretty Little Things (PLT) received a lot of attention by discounting items buy as much as 99% – with some tops selling for as little as 0.5p!
But how can brands such as PLT or Shein – which sell things in store for less than a tenner – afford to give such big discounts? The fact that they have so much stuff to basically give away suggests that they produced too much stuff in the first place, which just adds to the waste associated with the fashion industry.
The second problem is that with these deals it is too easy to fall into the hole of overconsumption. Instead of buying something because we really need it or want it, we buy it because it is a great bargain. And so we ignore the things (other than price) that stopped us from buying it in the first place, and we end up with clothes that don’t fit us or our lifestyle.
Black Friday is then of course followed quickly by Cyber Monday, making November one of the months when we are most likely to waste money on er… waste items. Which is why I’m going to point you to a repeller site graphic that went viral a couple of years back but which is still very relevant as we approach the black hole of Black Friday.
